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->''"Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon!"''-->-- '''Professor Oak''', ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''

These {{Role Playing Game}}s, developed by Creator/GameFreak and published by Creator/{{Nintendo}}, spawned a [[CashCowFranchise multi-billion dollar franchise]] rivaling the ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' series (which of course is also published by Nintendo), and indirectly caused the proliferation of Western broadcasts of {{anime}} along with ''Franchise/DragonBall'' and ''Franchise/SailorMoon''.

Released in Japan in February of 1996 for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, ''Pokémon'' (or in Japan, ''[[MarketBasedTitle Pocket Monsters]]'') [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo came in]] [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue two versions]]: ''Red'' and ''Green''. The idea of the game is to run around and battle wild {{Mons}} with your own, catch them with hand-held balls, and teach them to battle ([[NonLethalKO non-lethally]]) with each other under the guidance of human Trainers for fun and profit. The original idea was for an artificial form of insect collecting for kids that lived in cities and thus couldn't participate in such a hobby (as the original creator was a bug collector when he was a kid), with the paired versions providing incentive for players to get together and trade Mons with their friends (but more on that later).

The strategy in the gameplay comes from two factors. First of all, there's an ambitiously large ElementalRockPaperScissors setup. 15 (later 17, and now 18[[note]]excluding the ???-type, which was removed in ''Black'' and ''White''[[/note]]) different elements are in play, and some species of Pokémon belong to ''two'' elements instead of just one, which can neutralize or compound the elements' respective resistances or weak points. Pokémon aren't strictly limited to moves of their elemental type either[[note]]though they do receive an attack bonus for it[[/note]], but can learn almost any move the particular creature might ''reasonably'' be capable of executing (like [[MakingASplash Water]] Pokémon using [[AnIcePerson Ice]]-type moves, or [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragon]] Pokémon using [[PlayingWithFire Fire]]-type moves), and sometimes ones they aren't (a [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Lapras plesiosaur-like creature]] learning to eat dreams and shoot lightning? [[RuleOfCool Okay!]]).

The second factor is the strict move limit: each of your Pokémon can only know 4 moves at once, out of a large movepool that they can learn from. This was hampered in the first generation by balance issues leading to some elements and species becoming obvious {{Game Breaker}}s, but later generations have made many strides in balancing them out, most notably with the addition of new types: [[CombatPragmatist Dark]], [[ExtraOreDinary Steel]] and [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fairy]].

The {{plot}} of each main-series game is typically a quest ToBeAMaster; the player is given one Pokémon to start their team with, then proceeds to take on the region's "Pokémon League" by catching new Pokémon, defeating other Pokémon trainers in battles (most importantly your childhood friend and [[TheRival rival]]), challenging type-specialist Gym Leaders and collecting Gym Badges, and ultimately battling the Elite Four to become the regional League Champion. During your journey, you also manage to single-handedly take down some kind of crime syndicate (and/or save the world) at some point along the way, and capture really powerful Pokémon that the local legends are based on.

While these [[PlayTheGameSkipTheStory aren't necessarily the greatest stories ever told]], the games are certainly enjoyable, especially if you have friends that also play the games. You see, the completion of the in-game storyline and {{Bonus Dungeon}}s only comprised part of the gameplay. The real meat of the game (or as some insist, the only point of the game) was the [[PlayerVersusPlayer one-on-one]] CompetitiveMultiplayer. Not only were the player's Pokémon usable against the in-game enemies, these same Pokémon can be pitted against Pokémon trained by other live players of the game. As such, players continued to train and catch Pokémon just so they have the best team among their peers. To further facilitate interaction between players was the fact that Pokémon can also be traded between games, and that [[SocializationBonus certain Pokémon can only be obtained by trading]]. That was the rationale behind releasing different versions of the game, as each version had certain Pokémon that were exclusive to it, and trading was the only way to get those exclusives in the other version.

To say that the brand took off like a [[JustForPun (Team) rocket]] would be an understatement. Part of its success is down to the fact that with each generation, you must have access to (through purchase or a friend) at least ''two'' games to complete your Pokédex, trading with another player, and you ''both'' need Game Boys and alternate copies of the game. Despite being a relatively young series, the franchise is [[CashCowFranchise the second-best-selling video game franchise of all time]], by a wide margin,[[note]]''Pokémon'' is a whopping seventy million copies ahead of number three, the ''UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}'' [[VideoGame/WiiSports s]][[VideoGame/WiiSportsResort e]][[VideoGame/WiiPlay r]][[VideoGame/WiiFit i]][[VideoGame/WiiMusic e]][[VideoGame/WiiParty s]], also published by Nintendo![[/note]] and is only beaten by its older brother, the ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' franchise. Though it consistently has come close to topping it, ''Pokémon'' still has a way to go before [[strike:it's [[ThemeTuneCameo the very best]] ]] it tops the plumbers.

The concept of ''Pokémon'' would not be confined to the VideoGame medium. Merchandising sprung up all over the place, including, of course, an [[TheAnimeOfTheGame anime]].

The franchise will soon have [[http://comicbook.com/2016/07/20/legendary-developing-live-action-detective-pikachu-movie/ a live action movie]] on the way from Creator/LegendaryPictures, based off the ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachu'' spin-off.

[[/index]]In [[TheWikiRule the grand tradition of]] TheInternet, more extensive information lies free for use in [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page Bulbapedia]], a subdivision of the enormous Website/{{Bulbagarden}} fansite. You can vote for your favourite ''Pokémon'' game [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/BestEpisode/PokemonGames here]].----!!Examples found in ''Pokémon'':[[index]]* Pokemon/TropesAToI* Pokemon/TropesJToR* Pokemon/TropesSToZ-----> ''"TVTropes, I choose you!"''[[/index]]----